Comrades in conflict: Labour, the trade unions and 1969's <i>In Place of Strife</i>

This book examines the 1969 attempt by Harold Wilson’s Labour Government to enact legislation to reform industrial relations. There was a particular concern to curb strikes by the trade unions. Published in the 50th anniversary of this ill-fated episode, this scholarly study makes extensive use of primary sources, many of them previously unpublished, most notably the archives of the Labour Party, the left-wing Tribune Group, the TUC, and the personal papers of the three key political figures involved, namely Harold Wilson, Barbara Castle and James Callaghan. The chapters are organised both thematically and chronologically, each one focusing on a particular aspect of the events leading to the proposed Industrial Relations Bill, and its subsequent abandonment. The book commences with an examination of the key economic and industrial developments of the early 1960s, to indicate how the ‘trade union problem’ was initially identified and defined. This led the Labour Government, elected in 1964, to establish a Royal Commission to examine industrial relations, but its report, published in 1968, was a cautious document, and therefore a deep disappointment to Harold Wilson and his Employment Secretary, Barbara Castle. They thus pursued their own industrial relations legislation, via a White Paper called In Place of Strife, but were overwhelmed by the scale and strength of opposition this aroused, and which eventually compelled them to abandon the legislation via a humiliating climb-down. "This book examines the 1969 attempt by Harold Wilson's Labour Government to bring about legislation to reform industrial relations, with the objective of establishing a clear legal framework for Britain's trade unions, as well as curbing unofficial strikes. Published in the 50th anniversary of this ill-fated episode, this scholarly study makes extensive use of primary sources, many of them previously unpublished, most notably the archives of the Labour Party, the Left-wing Tribune Group, the TUC, and the personal papers of the three key political figures involved, namely Harold Wilson, Barbara Castle and James Callaghan. The chapters are organised both thematically and chronologically, each one focusing on a particular aspect of the events that led up to the proposed industrial relations legislation and its subsequent abandonment. The book commences with an examination of the key economic and industrial developments of the early 1960s, to indicate how 'the trade union' problem was initially identified and defined. This led the Labour Government, elected in 1964, to establish a Royal Commission to examine industrial relations, but its 1968 report was a cautious document and therefore deeply disappointing to Harold Wilson and his Employment Secretary, Barbara Castle. They thus pursued their own industrial relations legislation, via a White Paper called In Place of Strife . This aroused such strong opposition in the Cabinet, the Parliamentary Labour Party and the trade unions, that by June 1969, Wilson and Castle were humiliatingly compelled to abandon the legislation. This original and detailed case-study will be of particular interest to scholars of political and labour history." -- Back cover On the 50th anniversary of In Place of Strife , this scholarly study makes extensive use of previously unpublished archival and other primary sources to explain why Harold Wilson and Barbara Castle embarked on legislation to regulate the trade unions and curb strikes, and why this aroused such strong opposition, not just from the unions, but within the Cabinet and among backbench Labour MPs. This opposition transcended the orthodox ideological divisions, making temporary allies of traditional adversaries in the Party. Even Wilson's threats either to resign, or call a general election, if his MPs and Ministers failed to support him and Castle, were treated with derision. His colleagues called Wilson's bluff, and forced him to abandon the legislation, in return for a 'solemn and binding' pledge by the trade unions to 'put their own house in order' in tackling strikes Front matter Contents List of tables Acknowledgements List of abbreviations Introduction Emergence and identification of the problem The Donovan Commission and its Report The initial political response Cabinet demurrals and diminishing Ministerial support Increasing antipathy in the Parliamentary Labour Party The trade unions’ implacable hostility A ‘solemn and binding’ agreement Conclusion Bibliography Index This is the first in-depth academic study of the Labour Government’s 1969 attempt to introduce industrial relations to curb strikes by trade unions. Using archival sources, this book explains how this attempt provoked strong opposition in the Party, and from the unions, to the extent that it was abandoned in a humiliating climb-down.